Posts Tagged ‘performance hybrids’

Lexus will reveal the new LC 500h at the Geneva Motor Show early next month.

When Lexus unveiled the new LC 500 coupe at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last month Toyota President Akio Toyoda said it was a preview of the brand’s future direction, with an emphasis on “passion and distinction.”

The new coupe’s 467-horsepower certainly fits that bill, but how about the Lexus LC 500h set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month? It likely wouldn’t if Lexus were simply offering up another mileage miser. But it’s hinting that this hybrid will be another matter entirely.

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In a teaser release, Lexus promises the new Multi State Hybrid System debuting in the LC 500h will deliver “enhanced driving pleasure, more performance, and greater efficiency” than the current gas-electric technology used by the Lexus line – which is little more than a glorified version of what Toyota offers in the Prius model.

With development rapidly moving forward on the development of the eagerly awaited Acura NSX, Honda offered a handful of journalists a first look at the supercar’s complex, hybrid powertrain during a visit to its Tochigi R&D center.

After years of debating whether to adopt a traditional, more European approach to powering the next-generation sports car, such as going for a big V-10, the automaker ultimately decided to go with a more futuristic performance hybrid approach, it announced when showing off the first, early prototype of the Acura NSX nearly two years ago. But until now, it has revealed little else.

With functioning prototypes now running around test tracks in both Japan and the U.S.,

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TheDetroitBureau.com was able to get significantly more details about the new powertrain – notably including the fact that the Acura NSX will be the only vehicle using Honda’s new three-motor hybrid technology that also will make use of a conventional turbocharger to further boost performance.

Honda hopes to kick-start sales of the CR-Z with a significant boost in performance.

Though its new Accord may be winning favorable reviews, Honda has admittedly missed the mark with a number of recent niche vehicles – especially hybrids like the Insight and CR-Z. The latter was a particular disappointment coming as the long-awaited replacement for the Japanese maker’s old CR-X sport compact.

So, there were some anticipatory celebrations when Honda revealed plans to unveil an updated version of the CR-Z in Paris designed to punch out a bit more performance than the hybrid-powered model that debuted in 2009.

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Honda came through with a royal purple update that gets a number of welcome modifications – including 13 more horsepower and a new lithium-ion battery pack that allows the 2013 Honda CR-Z to operate in S+ mode – a hybrid alternative to turbocharging – for up to 10 seconds.

With the introduction of the Prius Plus Performance Package Toyota aims to give a little "mean" to its familiar green machine.

Who says a green machine also has to be a stone pony?

A number of makers are out to prove that clean, high-mileage battery technology can also deliver surprising performance with products like the Audi etron concept and the Mercedes-Benz SLS e-Cell. But now Toyota is weighing in, offering up the new Prius Plus Performance Package, an alliterative way of saying a more sporty version of the world’s best-selling hybrid-electric vehicle.

The limited-edition Prius was developed with the helping hand of Toyota’s performance and racing arm, TRD, which is an immediate sign that this is more than just an all-show-no-go offering.

“PLUS is an evolution of hybrid design, where fuel-efficiency co-exists with aggressive styling and performance handling,” the maker explains.

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In practical terms, the Prius Plus Performance Package – P4, if you’ll allow us to use shorthand – starts out where the already aerodynamic hybrid leaves off. That means a seven-piece aero package including front and rear lower spoilers, side skirts and a rear diffuser that not only add a bit of aggressiveness to the base car’s insufferably smug appearance but also improve its drag coefficient.